Carl H

Big thanks to Taylor for helping me out with the preview thread for this meeting while I've been away on my holidays. Great job!

Looks like a top quality programme.

Additional bookings:- 424 Mike Heywood and NZ282 Phil Ogle.

Big thanks to Taylor for helping me out with the preview thread for this meeting while I was away in the sunshine attempting to drink my own body weight in Greek lager. Top job!

Further to my previous post about the first ever online post-meeting discussion, today is the anniversary of another event that in hindsight was something of a landmark. It was during a conversation on the bulletin board on Mike's F1 Stock Car Pages that someone asked if anyone would be able to make a note of the results at the upcoming meeting and send them in to another up and coming stox website. That site was Opposite Lock, and I obliged at the August Bank Holiday Sunday night meeting at Belle Vue. These were the days when your only options for finding out who'd won (apart from actually going!) were either a premium rate phone call to Stoxline, or waiting until you saw them in print in either Stoxworld or Stock Car mag. So I went to Belle Vue with notebook and pen, and carefully wrote down the results, and when I got home I typed them all out into an email. Later that same night, those results were published on Opposite Lock. That makes it the first ever F1 meeting to have results online the same day. At the time, Roger's Oval Racing Pages had already been around for a year or so and featured a wide range of mainly southern oval formulae, including results, although coverage of F1 was limited. It's possible that Roger had already had same day results for another formula, but this was definitely the first time that it had been done for an F1 meeting. That said, it was quite late, and probably not many saw it until the next day anyway! When we were talking about doing the results, I remember asking if I should do a bit of a meeting report as well... "Erm... nah, just the results will be fine, thanks!" I wrote one anyway, and it went online sometime the day after, while I was at Sheffield. From then until the end of the 2014 season, I went on to write a total of 174 meeting reports for various websites. Reading that first one back now, it's quite clear to me that I never got any better at it! Anyway, the first ever F1 results and meeting report to appear on the internet... BELLE VUE - Sunday 27th August 2000 Cars racing: 45 Driver of the Year Semi Final 1: 180,97,34,290,109,446,52,337,70,nof Driver of the Year Semi Final 2: 391,515,53,226,225,26,13,291,477,49 Heat 1: 383,225,140,226,13,75,137,76,70,477 Heat 2: 391,26,515,34,277,291,109,212,35,389 Consolation: 52,180,446,8,97,21,215,416,N28,49 Final: 21,34,446, rest TBA. There were 45 cars in the pits for the last Belle Vue of the season, including 4 of the overseas entrants for the World Final. They were Quentin Saayman (SA1) in the Richard Brighton car, Allen Woods (AUS1) in the old Mark Gilbank shale car, Scott Myers (NZ8) in the John Lund tarmac car, and Neil McCoard (NZ7) in the Chambers/Harrison car. All 4 were allowed a 10 lap practice before the meeting, and all looked reasonably competent. The meeting opened with the semi-finals for the Driver of the Year championship, which determine the grid positions for the Driver of the Year Final at Swindon on September 16th. The grids for the Semi-Finals were determined by points scored at all Startrax tracks so far this season. Ray Witts (180) started the first semi on pole and had little difficulty in a flag to flag victory. Mick Harris (8) gave Dave Johnson (383) a big hit in the early laps to take second place, but Johnson wasted no time in firing Harris into the pits bend fence. With Wainman and Smith on the front row of the second semi, and Lund on inside row 2, there was a feeling of World 1999 Revisited about this one. At the drop of the green, Wainman went into the lead. Early in the race, Lund moved Smith aside to take second, and caught Wainman. As the laps went by, Lund and Wainman pulled away from Smith, and it was starting to look as if Lund was going to settle for second; this was a Semi-Final after all! But at around the halfway stage, Lund went for the 515 back bumper going into turns 3&4. Wainman went wide, and got it half sideways coming out of the bend. Lund looked like he was going to dive through on the inside, but he backed off, and Wainman kept the lead. But with 4 to go, Lund performed the same manoeuvre again, and this time it paid off. Over the remaining laps, the 53 car pulled away slightly, and looked like Lund might actually record a first race victory in his latest car. However, entering the last turn of the last lap, Wainman took an almighty lunge at Lund, connected with the inside rear wheel of the 53 car, bounced off, and went backwards towards the fence. Wainman kept his foot on the gas, came out of the fence, and clobbered the now slow moving Lund car, half spinning it. And while all this was going on, Andy Smith came from a distant third place to take the flag. Wainman took second, and John Lund limped home in third. World 1999 revisited, or World 2000 preview? (In fact, if John Lund had been Bert Finnikin, Frankie Wainman had been Peter Falding, and Andy Smith had been John Lund, it would have almost been a replay of the 1991 World Final ...... almost!) It started raining just before Heat One, resulting in a slippery track. Quentin Saayman (SA1) races non-contact sprint cars in South Africa, and had a baptism of fire in what was probably his first race in a contact formula. He managed to collide with both the fence and other cars in equal measure, before bouncing off the fence and ending up facing the oncoming traffic. He was in the racing line on the entrance to turn 3, and the yellows were brought out to rescue him. Andy Robinson was in the lead at this point, but on the restart he lost his momentum, and Dave Johnson and Mark Clayton (225) got past him before the chequered. There was a torrential downpour at the start of Heat 2, which had turned to slight drizzle by the halfway stage. Wet weather expert Ray Williams led for much of the race, but as the rain slowed, so did Ray, and Andy Smith gradually caught and passed him. Martin Southwell (277) was initially given second place, but the results were later amended to place him fth. Craig Howarth (52) had no problems in the Consolation, although Ray Witts did get close in the closing stages. Scott Myers (NZ8) literally screamed round the track in this one, the Lund car making such a noise that we wondered if he had it in the right gear. It looked like we weren't alone in this, as after the race, the normally laid back John Lund was seen sprinting (yes, sprinting!) across the track to check on his car. No rain fell during the Final itself, but the track was still fairly wet from the earlier downpours. The cars were soon covered in shale, and the majority of cars span out at least once, making this a difficult race to lap score. Neil Shenton (35) led the early laps, in which Mark Gilbank (21) seemed to rediscover the aggressive streak that he's been sadly lacking so far this year, and planted Wainman hard into the 391 and 226 cars. Mark Clayton (225) then took a turn at the front. There was plenty of carnage on turns 3 and 4, which seemed to be a lot slippier than the other bend. Mal Brown took up the lead before the halfway,and led for much of the race. A race stoppage was called to remove bits of somebody's bumper andnerf rails from the track, and as they slowed down, Andy Smith tried to pass Dave Johnson on the inside. Johnson wasn't having any of this, and chopped Andy up, forcing him onto the infield. If Andy had been looking where he was going, instead of glaring at Dave, hed have seen the parked Stu Fellows car, which he ran into. (This was on the infield, and under waved yellows!). On the restart, Brown was still leading, with Mark Brightmore (477) second, Gilbank third, with several backmarkers between them. Brightmore found himself on the receiving end of a big hit from Frankie Wainman, which also took out Andy Robinson and Mark Webster. The net result was the 477 and 515 cars hitting the fence at speed, with the Wainman car looking like it might roll, before landing back on its wheels. A second caution was called when Dave Russo (49) and one of the overseas drivers (either SA1 or AUS1) tangled and went into the fence. In the closing laps, Gilbank lunged at Brown, spinning the 34 car, but losing time himself, which allowed Craig Howarth to take the lead. This was short lived, as Gilbank chased him down the back straight, and planted him firmly into the parked 477 car. Gilbank went on to take the flag, with Brown recovering for second. Such was the carnage throughout the race, the lap charts were re-checked 3 times before Gilbank was eventually confirmed as the winner. It was a further 15 minutes before second and third were confirmed as Mal Brown and Steve Booth, and I was probably in bed by the time theyd sorted the rest of the places.

UK drivers making the trip. 4 Dan Johnson 33 Peter Falding 36 Jordan Falding 48 Shaun Webster 150 Mick Sworder 212 Daniel Wainmann 217 Lee Fairhurst 318 Rob Speak 321 Ed Neachell 326 Mark Sargent 401 Steve Webster 415 Russel Cooper 422 Ben Riley 445 Nigel Green 464 Luke Davidson 512 Michael Steward 515 Frankie Wainmann Jnr 518 Stuart Shevill Jnr 555 Frankie Wainmann Jnr Jnr

The press release is in Dutch but it loosely translates as The F1 Stock Car World Cup on 20th/21st August at Raceway Venray is a magnificent spectacle. The battle for the cup with the big ears will again be fierce. The crème de la crème of the stock car racing is at the start. A major international competition makes a bid for the highest title in the continent; The World Cup. From England, the participation of top drivers as Wainman, Speak and Johnson already confirmed. The Dutch honour is upheld by among others Kroonder (Assendelft), Maessen (Venray), Keijzer (Helmond) and Smidt (Nijmegen). To hold the event until the last race exciting, is on Sunday in the last race to divide a well stocked prize. Three loyal fans have given a new look to an old concept: "the dash for cash". Ingredients: Only 15 laps to distribute 3,000 Euros, all stock cars start bumper to bumper, the first 10 rounds ringing the cash register for the leader ... the rest is distributed to the finish among the top 5 of the "dash for cash" with a fantastic amount of 900 Euros for the winner. Experts now speak of perhaps the most spectacular stock car race of the weekend. So the bumpers must, during this grandiose ending to a fantastic race weekend. This year we added some extra activities to the program. On Friday August 19th there is a possibility to go- karting from 17:00 till 22:00 hours. Drivers, mechanics and fans can compete each other as a start off for the weekend. On the terrace near the canteen you can enjoy a delicious BBQ planed from 19:00 till 21:00 hours. Everyone is welcome and everyone can join! If you want to participate in the BBQ you can sign in until August 17th by sending on e-mail to abolmers@racewayvenray.com. The cost for the BBQ is 15,00 each and one heat karting (15 minutes) is 17,50 each.

Pit Gate Opens 9.00am Scrutineering from 9.30am Practise Starts 10.00am Spectator Gates/Trackside Parking Open 10.00am Practise Ends 12.30pm Open Rod British Championship Parade 12.45pm Meeting starts 1.00pm Trackside parking is likely to be very busy and is offered on a first come first served basis, motor homes and vans must park at the back, cars at the front.

The latest booking list 2 Paul Harrison (Semi Finalist) 16 Mat Newson 19 Jonathon Horne 21 Mark Gilbank (Semi Finalist) 25 Bradley Harrison 28 Thomas Boyer (Semi Finalist) 34 Mal Brown (Semi Finalist) 37 Chris Cowley (Semi Finalist) 46 Craig Utley 48 Shaun Webster 55 Craig Finnikin 84 Tom Harris (Semi Finalist) 94 John Dowson (Semi Finalist) 127 Austin Moore 134 John Brown 166 Bobby Griffin 172 Micky Randell 175 Karl Hawkins (Semi Finalist) 183 Steve Whittle 186 Todd Jones 197 Ryan Harrison (Semi Finalist) 212 Danny Wainman (Semi Finalist) 215 Geoff Nickolls 217 Lee Fairhurst (Semi Finalist) 231 Daniel van Spijker (Semi Finalist) 249 Jonathon Gibson 259 Paul Hines (Semi Finalist) 287 Sean Willis 308 Steve Malkin 326 Mark Sargent 335 Mark Woodhull (Semi Finalist) 337 Dave Willis (Semi Finalist) 388 Paul Ford 401 Steven Webster 445 Nigel Green (Semi Finalist) 446 Joe Booth (Semi Finalist) 499 David Allen (Semi Finalist) 501 George Elwell 512 Michael Steward (Semi Finalist) 515 Frankie Wainman (Semi Finalist) 518 Stuart Shevill Jnr (Semi Finalist) 555 Frankie Wainman Jnr Jnr (Semi Finalist)

Karl has only raced tar at the July Skegness weekender this year. Full list of his appearances on here

463 James Morris has withdrawn so 215 Geoff Nickolls is now on the grid.

He's probably racing in the F2 semi finals at King's Lynn the night before.

Now up to 42 cars 2 Paul Harrison (Semi Finalist)16 Matt Newson19 Jonathon Horne21 Mark Gilbank (Semi Finalist)25 Bradley Harrison28 Thomas Boyer (Semi Finalist)34 Mal Brown (Semi Finalist)37 Chris Cowley (Semi Finalist)46 Craig Utley48 Shaun Webster84 Tom Harris (Semi Finalist)94 John Dowson (Semi Finalist)127 Austin Moore134 John Brown166 Bobby Griffin172 Micky Randell175 Karl Hawkins (Semi Finalist)183 Steve Whittle186 Todd Jones197 Ryan Harrison (Semi Finalist)212 Danny Wainman (Semi Finalist)215 Geoff Nickolls217 Lee Fairhurst (Semi Finalist)231 Daniel van Spijker (Semi Finalist)249 Jonathon Gibson259 Paul Hines (Semi Finalist)287 Sean Willis308 Steve Malkin326 Mark Sargent335 Mark Woodhull (Semi Finalist)337 Dave Willis (Semi Finalist)388 Paul Ford401 Steven Webster445 Nigel Green (Semi Finalist)446 Joe Booth (Semi Finalist)463 James Morris (Semi Finalist)483 Wayne Marshall499 David Allen (Semi Finalist)501 George Elwell512 Michael Steward (Semi Finalist)515 Frankie Wainman (Semi Finalist)518 Stuart Shevill Jnr (Semi Finalist)555 Frankie Wainman Jnr Jnr (Semi Finalist)

Buxton have confirmed the race order. (Definitely no F2s on ) 1 Open Rods British Championship 2 National Ministox Heat 1 3 V8 Hotstox Heat 1 4 BriSCA F1 World Semi Final 5 Open Rods Heat 2 6 National Ministox Heat 2 7 BriSCA F1 Heat 2 8 V8 Hotstox Heat 2 9 Open Rods Heat 3 10 BriSCA F1 Heat 3 11 National Ministox Heat 3 12 V8 Hotstox Final 13 BriSCA F1 Final 14 Open Rods Final 15 National Ministox Final 16 BriSCA F1 Grand National 17 V8 Hotstox Allcomers

There will be at least one more mention of Opposite Lock in future instalments of my Stoxnet Retrospective ramblings... the next one will be in another thread in a couple of weeks.

2 Paul Harrison (Semi Finalist) 16 Mat Newson 19 Jon Horne 21 Mark Gilbank (Semi Finalist) 25 Bradley Harrison 28 Thomas Boyer (Semi Finalist) 34 Mal Brown (Semi Finalist) 37 Chris Cowley (Semi Finalist) 46 Craig Utley 48 Shaun Webster 84 Tom Harris (Semi Finalist) 94 John Dowson (Semi Finalist) 127 Austin Moore 166 Bobby Griffin (Semi Finalist) 172 Micky Randell 175 Karl Hawkins (Semi Finalist) 183 Steve Whittle 186 Todd Jones 197 Ryan Harrison (Semi Finalist) 212 Danny Wainman (Semi Finalist) 217 Lee Fairhurst (Semi Finalist) 231 Daniel van Spijker (Semi Finalist) 249 Jonathon Gibson 259 Paul Hines (Semi Finalist) 287 Sean Willis 308 Steve Malkin 326 Mark Sargent 335 Mark Woodhull (Semi Finalist) 337 Dave Willis (Semi Finalist) 388 Paul Ford 401 Steven Webster 445 Nigel Green (Semi Finalist) 446 Joe Booth (Semi Finalist) 463 James Morris (Semi Finalist) 483 Wayne Marshall 499 David Allen (Semi Finalist) 501 George Elwell 512 Michael Steward (Semi Finalist) 515 Frankie Wainman (Semi Finalist) 518 Stuart Shevill Jnr (Semi Finalist) 555 Frankie Wainman JJ (Semi Finalist)

19 Jon Horne has posted on Twitter that he'll be racing at this meeting. Think he's sold his car and is using a Mat Newson one?

This is what you merely stated. It's wrong to assume anything Daniel S, the truth is out there, do not assume anything. BUXTON RACEWAY WEBSITE Not hard is it Sam W you appear to have answered your own question. Not exactly positive contributions to a discussion, are they? You could have either just posted the facts, which you were party to, or you could have said nothing at all. Either would have been perfectly fine. I'll think about it.

You didn't try to correct anything. You just added to the confusion, and your attitude of "I know something you don't know, la la la la laaaaa" hardly helped. If anything, it just made it worse. You do not approve of assumptions. I do not approve of posts that seem to be made to deliberately stir up bother on here. Agreed. Right, let's draw a line under all that, and get back to the more important things in life - like, this Semi-Final meeting.

In the absence of actual facts, there will be questions and speculation. As a member of the 152 team, you would have been treated as a credible source of information, so it is a great pity that you chose not share these FACTs with us at the time; they would have saved a whole lot of assuming, something you have made clear that you do not approve of.

No F1 booking list as yet (but there will be at least 24 of them ) but currently expecting turnouts of high 20s in all three support formulae.

134 John Brown should be out in a new car. Gary Grattan is an interesting entry. He's an F2 driver from Northern Ireland but has been racing an F1 in Holland with a Dutch team. I don't think he's ever raced an F1 in England.

Booking list, as of tea time tonight. 1 2 Paul Harrison 2 4 Daniel Johnson 3 11 Neil Scriven 4 12 Michael Scriven 5 16 Matt Newson 6 21 Mark Gilbank 7 22 Will Yarrow 8 24 Mark Adkins 9 25 Bradley Harrison 10 34 Mal Brown 11 36 Jordan Falding 12 40 Steve Smith 13 43 Adam Bamford 14 53 John Lund 15 55 Craig Finnikin 16 75 Thomas Stevenson 17 76 Aaron Cozens 18 83 Darren Clark 19 94 John Dowson Jnr. 20 104 Paul Spooner 21 108 Peter Hobbs 22 118 Steve Harrison 23 127 Austin Moore 24 134 John Brown 25 150 Mick Sworder 26 158 James Clement 27 166 Bobby Griffen 28 175 Karl Hawkins 29 191 Joshua Smith 30 192 Luke Dennis 31 196 Murray Jones 32 197 Ryan Harrison 33 207 Ben Hurdman 34 208 Stephen Malkin Sen. 35 212 Daniel Wainman 36 215 Geoff Nickolls 37 216 Jack France 38 217 Lee Fairhurst 39 220 William Hunter 40 221 Shaun Blakemore 41 224 Mark Gray 42 231 Daniel van Spijker 43 238 Richard Bryan 44 244 Mick Rogers 45 249 Jonathon Gibson 46 259 Paul Hines 47 273 Andrew Olorenshaw 48 276 Mark Poole 49 287 Sean Willis 50 307 Tim Warwick 51 318 Rob Speak 52 326 Mark Sargeant 53 332 Isaac Beaumont 54 335 Mark Woodhull 55 337 Dave Willis 56 339 Anthony Lee 57 348 John Wright 58 390 Stuart Smith 59 415 Russell Cooper 60 422 Ben Riley 61 445 Nigel Green 62 446 Joe Booth 63 448 Jason Eaton 64 451 Martin Spiers 65 505 Rob Tunnah 66 506 Dave Hayward 67 515 Frankie Wainman Jnr 68 555 Frankie Wainman JJ 69 H59 Cur Meyer 70 H388 Jelle Bijlsma 71 H422 Martin Bijlsma 72 H917 Gary Grattan

No booking list as yet, but currently over 70 cars expected.

Okay then..... Saturday 6th August - F1s from about 6.45pm ish. Friday 2nd September - first race 7pm Saturday 3rd September - gates open 12 noon, time trials 1pm, first race 3pm. I've removed all the posts of confusion, to prevent further confusion...